Bottle Trees

A South Carolina Bottle Tree

Bottle trees used to be scorned. After all, you never saw one on a golf course, did you? Now, though, when we are beginning to care that litter has a destructive impact on native plant species, the bottle tree is the new symbol of haute couture lawn fashion.

Here's a video from YouTube showing a bottle tree forest. At one time, this was considered outsider art. Now it's becoming mainstream. (At least we can dream.)

If you want a bottle tree all of your very own without going to the trouble of making it or collecting the actual bottles, you can buy one ready made -- and let me say here that it feels just plain wrong and also unAmerican to talk about purchasing a bottle tree -- from the bottle tree man. It looks a little too clean to be authentic, but I guess you can always kick the bottles around in the dirt to give them that authentic look. Unless you're unlucky enough to live in a world where there is no dirt (a. k. a. a city), in which case let me know and I'll sell you some. Cheap.